The state’s new marijuana decriminalization laws take effect Wednesday, and Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies will have to use their judgment in deciding whether an amount of suspected substance found on an individual might exceed the weight considered a civil offense under the legislation.

Under the law, passed by the Maryland General Assembly and signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley earlier this year, amounts of marijuana under 10 grams will no longer draw a criminal penalty. Instead, first-time offenders will pay a $100 fine, with repeat offenders facing fines of $250 and $500, as well as the possibility of being ordered into an educational program.

But the law does not change penalties for drug paraphernalia or marijuana trafficking; putting pot into a pipe or selling it remains a criminal offense. Adding to the uncertainty around the law, Harford County Sheriff’s Deputies and their counterparts in several other local jurisdictions will have to use their discretion to determine whether an amount of marijuana seized from a person weighs 10 grams or more–official weights will be determined only at precincts, according to agency spokeswoman Cristie Kahler.

“The feasibility to conduct road-side weighing was not practical,” Kahler said in an e-mail to The Dagger. “Deputies will use their training and experience to make a good faith estimate, on scene, before taking the marijuana to the precinct to weigh. This seems to be the general movement from several surrounding jurisdictions.”

The agency policy, which was reviewed at a command staff meeting Monday, was developed in consultation with Harford County State’s Attorney Joseph Cassilly and through “work sessions” at the state level, Kahler said.

“In an effort to develop this policy, agency members spent countless hours attending work sessions around the state to better understand the implications of the new law and create polices to outline how law enforcement officers would uphold the law,” she said. “Part of that process did include consultation with our Harford County State’s Attorney. Discussions have been held surrounding all aspects of the law from the standpoint of Patrol, Evidence Collection, and the Harford County Narcotics Taskforce.”

Individuals suspected of possessing more than 10 grams can be arrested pending a weigh-in at a Sheriff’s Office precinct, Cassilly said, comparing such action to a DUI suspect being arrested until chemical breath tests are completed. It was not immediately clear how many deputies would be trained in weighing marijuana; Sheriff Jesse Bane declined a phone interview Tuesday in lieu of an in-person meeting with The Dagger later this week.

Kahler added that the new policy would be reviewed at “roll call training” for deputies. That training will include how to identify 10 grams of marijuana, as a supplement the drug recognition training all deputies receive as recruits.

In the months leading up to the new law, both Sheriff Jesse Bane and Cassilly said the law as written creates a variety of potential problems for both deputies on patrol and prosecutors in the court room.

In an interview with The Dagger in May and at several other forums at the time, including a county council meeting, Bane expressed opposition to the change and called marijuana legalization a matter of public health.

“I keep emphasizing this, that the drug issue is a public health issue…and that makes it the number one problem in the county, in my opinion,” he said. “The THC substance is not a substance that is supposed to be in the brains of our children.”

In a June interview, Cassilly criticized the law as written, calling it a “godawful mess,” and said that Harford’s judges had begun handling cases which would fall under the new law in different ways.

“We’ve got judges that are basically saying this new law is coming,” he said at the time. “If you charge someone now, it may not come to trial until after the new law is in effect.”

“I’ve got nine judges, I’ve got judges looking at it differently. Some say the law is going to be different in five months, some go by what the law is now.”

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About Aaron Cahall

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A digital scale can be purchased on E-Bay for around $10, that includes shipping. It could easily be placed in a glove compartment of a patrol car or even the shirt pocket of an officer. Problem solved………

I never said anything about trusting a cop. Cops are sanctimonious scum. They want to pursue a pothead, meanwhile they are getting drunk as a skunk at the local FOP lodge and then drive home. Cops traditionally look the other way for each other. Its called the thin blue line they are always talking about. I call it corruption.

Those calibration weights need special handling or they are not certified any more. Throwing a scale on the hood or dash of a car and weighing something as little as 10 grams is not going to be accurate enough for a court case. And you would need more than a single weight to do a proper verification anyway. Scales are sensitive to air movement, temperature, humidity, and vibration. A field scale would probably not pass in court.

A “Field” scale as you have pegged it, would be used to determine if the officer has caught someone above the legal limit. A proper weight would be done at the station and that would be the official weight in the report. Kinda like how they do breath tests or used to do breath tests. You get the official results back at the station…….

You empty the contents into a container on the scale. That eliminates the bag weight. If you place a container on a scale and then hit the TARE button it zeros the reading back out. You then pour the contents into the container.

It doesn’t matter what they say. Marston will continue to be a liar. Quill will continue to be a racist. Tabone will continue to use perjury as a weapon to get indictments. Period. It does please me that Cops will now have to go sifting through garbage as their number one tool against the marijuana again. Suits them perfectly as PIGs love to wallow in filth. All three of these men should not be involved in the criminal justice system. They have no integrity or honor. If you have to use perjury to guarantee a conviction, you are no better than any criminal you put away. All three of these men have committed felonious crimes more over than anyone they have put away. Yet, they still have their jobs, for now. That’s because Bane and Cassilly protect the criminals in their offices. Both Bane and Cassilly are guilty of harboring felons in their department, its sad, but true……….

Sure, no one will mind being charged for 10.01 grams based on the results of the $10 Ebay scale. Ha! Remember losers… clean out those stems and seeds before you leave home – they could make the difference. And as far as “taxing”… $100 for first offense, $250 and $500 for repeats… looks like Marty and his little friends will be collecting some nice little “fees”, you know how he likes his “fees”.

I never said I didn’t commit a crime. I said that the search was totally illegal and it was, is and always will be illegal because of the way they did it. Harford County Judges totally broke all the rules and the law by convicting me the way they did. I will say this tho, nothing I did harmed anyone. It was all pot related. Scott Yosua, took two statements of mine made to Sean Marston and combined pieces of them together to make it seem like a threat. That is how I was held without bond. If read separately the statements were completely non-threatening, which is how they were intended. So Marc, go choke that chicken somewhere else, unless you support liars in the police force………

You don’t know anything Marc. Can’t get the info you want from case search huh? Marc, I’m totally in the right on this one. Before you go shootin your mouth off about things you don’t know, please consider that I’ve been in situations and places you boys in blue would literally $hit UR pants at the thought of. I served your corrupt judicial system all over this state for 13 years and then you a$$holes did this to me. FU and the HCSO. As a matter of fact ur whole corrupt a$$ judicial system up there.

Well, if he wins, it just means the HCSO will have to Goose Step to a new tune. Nothing will change in Harford County. The Deputy’s will still lie until a policy of no tolerance is adhered to. If you lie, you fry. That should be the rule. Protecting liars on any police force is total BS.

First of all, the only reason worth living in Maryland is all the sweet government jobs. Yeah Maryland loves to tax and Maryland will be the first state to tax marijuana because boy they love taxing. So ya lots of services lots of taxes. Second of all, State Attorney Cassilly needs to go. Get with the times bro, the state passed the law stop going after crimes where no one is harmed.

As much as I hate how MD taxes anything they can and plan to move out of this state as soon as my wife and I retire, medical marijuana has been legal to purchase in other states for years and recreational marijuana has been legal in other states for several months and I’m pretty sure is taxed fairly heavily.

Anyway, Cassily is right, the way this law written is a mess and is going to cause major problems for everyone including the court system, police officers, and suspects.

I do think that country-wide legalization is only a matter of time at this point, but there needs to be a lot of changes made to existing laws, procedures, and training before that happens. Personally I don’t give a crap is someone wants to sit around their house and smoke a bowl so long as they aren’t doing it where I have to smell it and they don’t drive until the effects wear off. I think it smells just as bad (if not worse) than cigarettes and I don’t want to be inhaling secondhand marijuana smoke any more than I want to be inhaling secondhand cigarette smoke.

Yes, Cassilly should be ousted. His office is as crooked as the Mississippi River. His prosecutorial tactics are effective, yet completely illegal and unconstitutional. How he gets total collaboration of the Judges of your county is totally disgraceful. In my opinion, Cassilly should be in Federal Prison for Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, which is used in an alarming number of the cases his office prosecutes. Bottom line is if you see an Alford Plea as the defendant’s plea, it was forced or coerced. There is no honor or integrity involved in his office or the Judges that facilitate his criminal behavior. Quite frankly, I hope he rots from the inside out.

Nothing is changing. If you want to be arrested and be forced to hire a lawyer then carry any pot around in your car. You can easily be arrested then later have the charges dropped. Do you want that on your record. People will be fooled and think things have changed… more people will get arrested.

If you want to actually change things get a referendum on the ballot. It is the only way to stop the cycle and take the pressure off law enforcement. This will allow them to focus on more serious drugs and other issues.

The use of a lawyer in your county is useless. If you hire one, the Judges will force the lawyer to abide by their Jurisdiction. In the end Cassilly’s office will win because they will lock you up on fictitious charges, Judge Angela Eaves will hold you without bond or a high bond and Judge Carr will force an Alford Plea upon you. That’s how my case worked. Total Corruption from start to Finish. Its called Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law in most places in the US, but in Harford county its called standard operating procedure. Don’t use a Public Defender because they will do whatever the state and the Judges want them to. It really is a sham. It really is a shame. It really is Harford County………

Wow, you really don’t get how it works in Harford County. You see, once that lawyer helps the state coerce you into an Alford Plea, all bets are off. In an appellate court, they don’t hear new evidence, only what was brought to the table at the original trial or hearing. That’s why they get you to take that Alford Plea before you can bring evidence in your favor to the table. You really are stuck with very few options other than a Post Conviction or a Coram Nobis. My lawyer refused to file for an appeal. He even put in a reconsideration/ modification of sentence. You may think that was a good thing. Its not. It gives that same corrupt Judge that forced the Alford Plea, exclusive rights to that case for the next 5 YEARS! I was threatened with a $250,000 lawsuit, from my own f’ing lawyer, if I kept talking about the case. That’s because that same lawyer, knew I had figured out what they had done and that he was part of the corruption. Come to find out, my lawyer had gone to law school with two of the Judges, Marshall and Carr. The good ole boy network was working its magic! When I made it clear to everyone I was going to try and pursue a Post Conviction, all of a sudden I started having problems with Probation. I never had any issues with probation until this point. You see, the whole system is screwed up. Harford County really does know how to phuk you. Cassilly has been doing this routine for years. Your County’s Court system specializes in extortion, there is no other way to describe it. They will cover up all evidence in your favor, will tamper with the evidence so that it seems that their version of facts is correct and will straight up lie to get you to do what they want. Your county’s court system cost me dearly, but that is in the past. There is no way to recover from their disgrace. I now do what I do to make sure that this can’t happen to anyone else. I will not get my conviction overturned, there will be no reconsideration or modification and I have to live with it the rest of my life. Your State’s Attorney Office is corrupt, your court system is corrupt and Sean Marston is a liar. Enough said?

While your experience was unfortunate, sounds to me like you should have found a new lawyer for yourself. If you were not able to get a postponement (which sounds fairly implausible since, I believe, Judge Carr does pleas at the arraignment stage, not trial), maybe you would have been better off pro se.

You are angry at the system – sounds like you really should be angry with yourself…

There are many criminal defense attorneys in Maryland — take your potential appeal issues/post conviction issues to someone else. Maybe the PD’s office can help you?

Wow, what a piece of obvious nonsense. Like, duh, its kinda hard to get a new lawyer while they got u locked up in the “R” dorm. Straight up, Carr, Eaves and Marshall knew what they were doing from the jump. The only honorable decision I’ve seen come out of your Court System recently was because the ACLU was breathing down the neck of Carr. It is totally amazing to me that all you people in Harford County don’t know what really goes on in your county. That’s why I’m here. To educate you on the criminals you’re electing. Blame can be placed anywhere you want, on ME included, but the bottom line is that Cassilly’s office broke the law with total cooperation of the Judges who broke the law too. I’m not a lawyer and had to learn all of this once I got out. Excuse me for not being a lawyer, I thought that is why people hired lawyers because they depend on their lawyer’s counsel to get them through. I didn’t pay that lawyer to stand there and look pretty. For real, this is happening all the time in your county.

I’m glad you feel that way Marc. I will side with the truth over you and your buddies any day. Oh, and by the way, you don’t know the truth, Marston lied on his search warrant affidavit, committed an illegal search and committed perjury in open court. What a great guy he is………..

What does it matter? The search was illegal Marc. A better question would be how can a 6’x3′ flowering area be considered for distribution? Any more questions? You really don’t know anything especially if you’re getting your info from the HCSO. Why don’t you ask them how they were originally informed? It was the Howard County Narcotics Task Force, using a totally illegal wiretap on Aaron David Lowinger’s Business phones. Aaron Lowinger is dead now, apparently from a suicide, but I have my doubts on that too. Also realize, that a police officer can not be a confidential informant. Do U Want To Know More Marc? Do you want to know the truth?

I know the truth. I know the guys you are talking about and the integrity is not in question here. I know the Judge also and he is a good judge. If you were so mistreated the ACLU or some other liberal lawyer would have jumped all over this. I will side with the law over you.

Marc, did you know that in 2009-2010 the Harford County Circuit Court had over 80 violations of the Hicks Rule? The Hicks Rule is the guarantee of a speedy trial, which is also a clear constitutional violation. All 80 of those cases could and should be reversed. It may also spell out jail time for members of the court and a certain SA’s office if this comes to light. Talk about Judicial Instability, that would be just horrible wouldn’t it………

In those 80 cases, 67 of them were held at HCDC on either No Bond or Excessive Bond Amounts? Man, another clear constitutional violation. ALL of these cases were settled by either a Plea Bargain or Alford Plea Bargain. Do you see a pattern forming here Marc?

Agreed with the above comments. A basic pocket scale accurate to .1 grams is 10 bucks with shipping on amazon. A calibration weight is about 8.

10 grams is the weight of 2 nickles.

Just like drunk driving arrests. The officers Breathalyzer is used to confirm a suspicion and bring the suspect in to lock up. Drunk drivers use a much more accurate breathalyzer at the station and that is the machine reading used for charges. The same can be done with a pocket scale and a much more accurate scale at the HQ.

Why would any officer carry something that only works in your favor unless the law dictates they do so. Why would any jurisdiction buy them for an officer to carry in their patrol car for a potential small civil fine. Best bet is a drug arrest and let the station sort it out. I would assume they are going to verify what it is.

The only way to prevent an arrest is legalize up to a sizable amount so it doesn’t matter whether you have a smaller than small amount. Until then, I bet you’re going to da slammer.

You do realize that these new laws are supposed to curb the influx of arrests and strain on the Judicial System while allowing the citizens to partake in a substance that has become overwhelmingly acceptable. To arrest and take people to the station in order to sort things out kinda defeats the concept of creation of these new laws. Why keep making these new laws harder to follow than necessary? Why does it always have to be an arrest when this law is trying to circumvent arrests? It is a civil citation after all. Do they take you to jail for other civil violations? No. Why is this any different? Just write the ticket and do your job……..

Almost no one has actually been arrested and taken to the jail for 10g or less of marijuana in over a year unless there were other charges involved or if the suspect can’t provide a legitimate home address, at least not by the HCSO. It’s been directed for over a year that under 10g of marijuana be charged on a criminal citation and the suspect released on scene unless there are additional considerations.

As far as decriminalization goes, the main difference in how it’s handled on the street is that a civil citation instead of a criminal citation will be issued.